To Be Claimed
by Violetrose25
Summary: Bruce and Natasha both have problems with emotions. Demons of the past that hinder their ablity to have a normal life. So thus, they deny their ongoing attraction to one another. But when a mission leads to the Hulk claiming Natasha... what will happen between them now? (M for smut and violence. Brutasha. Please Read, review, and enjoy )
1. Denial

**I _adore_ this couple, that's why! :) Please read, review and enjoy.. also, I will own Marvel, Starbucks, and any other trademarks mentioned when pigs fly to the moon (okay, even if that DOES happen, I still own jack shit.)**

_In the Lab:_

Tony and Bruce were working on another project, trying once again to fix Bruce's... err... condition. The efforts had been fruitless so far, nothing seeming to have any affect on his blood.

"It's hopeless." Bruce whispered.

"Hey now, don't give up hope. I'm sure that if we keep trying, something will work. Nothing is totally hopeless." Tony tried to assure his friend. "Besides, what you can do is pretty amazing! You save thousands of lives with your ability."

"And the other guy destroys thousands more."

Bruce looked to the floor, wanting to say '_like mine, for instance' _but kept it to himself none the less. Bruce had many reasons for not saying anything. For one, he didn't want pity. Didn't deserve it, didn't seek it out, didn't want it at all. Secondly, that statement would lead into a whole conversation about WHY the other guy ruined his life.

The memories of losing everything he worked for... his career... his future as a doctor... his love... all gone. He could never have these things back. He couldn't rebuild his life either...

Bruce shook his head. No need in feeling sorry for himself. He was WAY past that stage in his life. Instead, he went back to mixing different chemicals. Tony looked concerned for a minute, but followed suite.

Tony of course hated seeing Bruce so upset, he was his friend... a damn good friend at that. And he didn't deserve the shit he was put through. Bruce was a good guy, with a lot of heart. Tony worked hard to find a cure, because Bruce wanted it so damn bad that it was nearly driving him nuts. So much so that it caused him to stay up all night, working in a mad frenzy.

Tony knew he had tried to fix himself before... but ever since New York... it seemed a thousand times more important to him. And that was the one thing Tony couldn't figure out. Why, if he had seen the good he could do, would be more determined than ever to rid himself of his... other half. Ever since everyone moved into the tower, he'd been working, _slaving_ nonstop.

The lack of sleep couldn't be good for him.

Tony sighed, pushing all of these worrisome thoughts aside. All it was going to do was work himself into another headache.

_Meanwhile:_

Natasha was in her room, (essentially an apartment, like everyone else got), taking a hot bath. It was an activity she thouroughly enjoyed, especially recently now that she had the time. Relaxing, relieving her of all confusing and unerving thoughts about a certain somebody...

She stopped herself right there. It was a bad road to go down, thinking about you-know-who again. Natasha lifted herself out of the tub, drying off her hair and letting the water drip from her skin. Ever since New York there's been something bothering her. Something more than just being comprimised by Loki, or Clint being mind-controlled, or even having been almost smashed by the Hulk (though these things still haunted her at night).

It was something more. Something worse. Something she refused to admit, or consider a possibility.

Her feelings. Those annoying little nuisances that get in the way of completing a mission only cause pain in the future. She even categorized them on how damaging they were, how much they hindered.

At the bottom was happiness. It was a set-up to be let down and broken in the end.

The second was depression. This leads to weakness and leaves you venurable to attack (emotional and physical).

The third was anger. Anger, in excess, can lead to wrecklessness and unfocused behavior. In addition it leaves for a messy job, no calculations actually made.

Fourth had to be trust and naiveity. These are dangerous to the mind and makes it easy for others to take advantage of you.

But the fifth was by far the most deadly. The most unbelievably poisonous emotion known to exist among humankind (or any intellegent being... Asgardians for instance.

LOVE. Love was the route of all evil. Love makes you happy, which makes you trust, thus leading you into a false sense of security. Then you become unfocused, distracted, and totally incompetant. Only ten times worse because you're on a triple threat of love, trust, and joy. It is something to be avoided at all costs, never to be mentioned if possible.

Love is an emotion best left for children.

But recently, the thorned vine that could possibly be love... or at least what could be classified as a crush... was seeping into Natasha's veins. And god, did this piss her off to no end. She denied it, and tried her damn best to avoid the man who caused this.

Not that it would work forever. She knew she'd have to face him eventually, talk to him about why she never spoke to him... but not today. Not until she could figure out what was happening to her.

Which, in essense, she had not.

Suddenly the alarm went off. This meant somebody was attacking again.

"Shit." She said to herself.

Yep, she'd have to face him now. This was not going to be pleasant.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR! ^^ THANK YOU FOR READING!


	2. Protector

Everyone assembled on the main floor of the so dubbed 'Avengers' Tower. Natasha was less than pleased with the turn of events, seeing as she's been dedicating the whole of her time avoiding everyone... well somebody in particular anyway. Natasha sighed as she thought about it... him.

Bruce wasn't exactly happy about it either. Despite the release that fighting a villian brings, Bruce still hates letting out the other guy. He despised his other half, and wanted him gone and out of his life. He horrifies everyone around him... especially a certain somebody who he could never forgive himself for scaring... Bruce shook himself out of it. These were not thoughts to be having right before a battle.

While Tony, Clint, Thor, Steve, and Natasha were suiting up, Bruce sort of stood awkardly in the corner, seeing as he wasn't much use until the actual fight.

Natasha got her guns, keeping a sharp eye on the doctor. Clint, beside her, noticed. He was aware that she had feelings for Bruce... no matter how much she denied it. She'd never been good with handling emotions like love and attraction. (Well maybe attraction, but certainly not love).

He sighed. Clint was determined to help his best friend find her way. She deserved happiness. But not now. They had bigger fish to fry.

When they got out of the tower, the Avengers immediatly headed for the sight of destruction. And who was there but Dr. Doom... again. This guy... he was always trying to do something to fuck with the city. Though this was the first the Avengers had to deal with him directly. Normally it was another group.

Tony dropped Clint off at the nearest rooftop, so he could get a good aim at all the little automatons Doom built to aid in his plot. Some were even programmed to rob jewlery stores and banks! Meanwhile, Tony was dealing with the larger ones, programmed to bomb buildings. These ones were better armed, which made it difficult to manuver through them.

Thor was taking some out on the ground, trying to protect the people. Cap was working on getting everyone out of the area, while at the same time battling all that came his way.

This... unfortunately... left Bruce and Natasha together.

"Where should we head, Black Widow?" Bruce asked her, using her code name.

She looked around at all the violence and death around her. Everyone esle seemed to be handling the robotic minions, so...

"How about we go for the big guy?"

"You mean Doom? Are you sure you can handle that?"

Natasha nodded.  
"Why not? Could be fun."

Bruce was slightly bothered by her nonchalant attitude. Didn't she care how much danger she was putting herself in? Didn't she know how much it affected the team... him... when she purposefully put herself into these situations?!

Bruce had no choice but to go along though, so he followed her through the wreckage of the downtown Manhatten. Bruce felt the Hulk clawing at the back of his mind.

**Not yet.** Bruce told his other half.

The Hulk grumbled. Strange isn't it, they had internal conversations. But as they approached where Doom was, the Hulk got even more riled up.

_Danger! Danger! Banner in Danger!_ It said in a deep, rumbling voice.

Bruce held him back. That was when Doom appeared, lighting cackling around them all.

"HA HA! So, they have sent a mere man and woman to defeat me? How delightfully moronic!" He shouted.

Natasha and Bruce smirked to one another. Mere man and woman huh? Natasha, being not the one afraid of danger, lunged for him with pistols out. As she sprinted, jumping into her attack mode, Doom cackled. Such an average woman was attempting to..

AHH! OW! MOTHERFUCKER!

Natasha had begun using her martial arts against the villian. Pistol-whipping him for good measure. And god, did this catch Doom off guard. Natasha was one willing to prove anyone wrong, ready to kick ass and take names with no hesitation. Unafraid of danger, Natasha wrung his neck.

Doom threw her off of him. She bounced back and kicked him in his cold, metal face. Doom immediately grabbed her leg and began spinning her. Natasha propeled her body weight and grabbed onto the nearest street light pole. While she spun, Natasha got a good shot at his gut.

Doom had just about enough of this. Just as he was about to hit her with a bolt of lightning, Hulk came screaming at him. And Doom was soon no more than another plaything for the green rage monster. Bruce had been feeling the other guys' cries to be released, to protect Natasha and destroy the metal man who was trying to hurt her... and finally Bruce let him take over.

Natasha scrambled into the nearest alleyway. She knew better than to get in the path of the Hulk. To be honest, Natasha was afraid of him. Not Bruce... just his other half. She knew the Hulk hated her with a passion and would just as soon kill her as he would Doom or Loki.

That was why the next statement that came out Hulks' mouth came as a complete shock.

"_MINE! MINE! HULKS' WOMAN! DOOM NO HURT HULKS' WOMAN!"_

What the fuck?


	3. Claimed and Taken

"What... wh-" Natasha was at a loss for words at this point.

The Hulk was calling her 'his woman'? That... she couldn't process that thought. Hulk was just about to finish off Doom when the other Avengers showed up.  
"Whoa, big guy, calm down! You don't want to kill Doom. It's against protocal." Steve reminded the green giant.

"HULK WANT HURT DOOM! NATASHA _MY_ WOMAN! NO HURT HULK WOMAN!"

Everyone just sort of froze. Clint blinked like he had no idea what he had just heard. Tony flew over to the Hulk (seeing as the two had a special bond of trust).

"Just set him down. Nobody will hurt your... woman. We'll take care of it."

Hulk relaxed a tad, enough to set the villian down. "Ooooohhhhh..." Doom moaned in agony.

Natasha walked over to the now very injured man, checking to see how strong his heartbeat was at this point, when Hulk snatched her up in one of his arms. Everyone stood back.

"Hulk... put her down." Tony urged.

"NO! MINE!" He screamed, and Tony backed away.

"Uh... little help guys..." Natasha started.

Hulk immediately began to carry her off. The others followed behind, tentatively... until...

"RAAWWWWRRRR! NO! NO COME NEAR! NO TOUCH NATASHA!" Hulk held her closer, but not so close that he was hurting her.

'He's being gentle on purpose' Natasha thought. Even so, this situation would most likely end badly. And at the moment, she needed th teams' help.

"Guys... help would be appreciated!" She called.

Tony spoke through his suit again: "Sorry Nat, but I think this beyond our control! You'll just have to let him keep you until he calms down. Just let us know when he's under control."

"Are you fucking serious right now?!" She was getting pissed.

"Sorry Nat! We'll keep an eye on you!" Clint called from the ground.

"Thanks for the help everyone... you're all SO reliable." Natasha spat sarcasm like acid.

Hulk ignored them and cradled Natasha closer. She swore she thought that he... he fucking purred. Like a giant ass kitten holding its favorite piece of catnip. The giant nestled her into his arms, protective.

"YOU COME WITH HULK." He said to her.

"Good luck, Nat!" Tony called out.

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLES!" She called back.

And with that, Natasha was being carried away. The Hulk made sure that she was cushined between his chest and him arms, providing a sturdy green cocoon. Natasha knew struggling was not an option (god only knew what kind of trouble THAT could cause). So she opted for the (unfortunately) most logical choice: go with the flow. Maybe they were right. He would calm down eventually. Then Bruce would be back, this nonsense could end, and... well...

Then what?

Everything would go back to normal?

No, probably not. But that was to be worried about later. Natasha had to focus on what was going on NOW. Hulk was pretty far down the street, and was now entering the less... well... decent part of Manhatten. He was taking her to the slums of New York. Not that she had to worry about being attacked, obviously, it was just an odd choice for a destination.

Maybe it was to avoid being noticed, bothered. It was what Hulk was used to by now, anyway. Natasha felt a pang of sympathy for both Bruce and his alter ego. That had to be difficult, living on the outskirts of society.

Now he was carrying her into an abandoned warehouse, and sat down. She looked up, and Hulk looked back down at her. He even smiled a little.

"HULK PROTECT YOU."

She tried to say something, but Hulk... he did something pretty strange, even for him. He was lifting Natasha up, and examining her. Oh, he was looking for injuires. Huh, maybe some of Banner was in there. But why was this even happening?

"Hulk.." Natasha started calmly.

"HMM..." He replied.

"I'm fine, see. Nothing is wrong with me." She flexed a few muscles.

"NO HURT? NATASHA NOT HURT?"

"No, I'm not hurt big guy." Then she tagged on "Say, do you know what we're doing here?" She spoke slowly, softly to him.

Hulk scooped her back into the cradle he made of his arms, and he was snuggling her.

"HULK LOVE NATASHA. WANT KEEP HER SAFE. PROTECT PRETTY WOMAN."

"That's sweet, big guy. But I don't need a protector. I'm fine taking care of myself. Banner knows this."

Hulk seemed to grow uncertain. Or maybe he wanted to say something.

"BANNER LOVE YOU TOO. HE WANT YOU ALONE. TOLD ME TAKE NATASHA HERE."

Natasha's jaw dropped. Did he just say... was she halucinating? Or did Hulk really just tell her that Bruce loved her? She decided it might be helpful to ask Hulk, seeing as he knew Banner better than anyone else... even if Bruce didn't want to admit it.

"Tell me about it, Hulk. Why does Bruce love me?"

Hulk smiled.

"NATASHA NEVER JUDGE BANNER. TREAT HIM NICE. NATASHA SWEET TO BANNER. HULK LIKE SWEET WOMAN. BANNER FEEL HAPPY WITH NATASHA. BANNER LOVE NATASHA. MAKE HULK HAPPY. HULK HAPPY MAKE BANNER HAPPY." He explained in his gutteral voice.

Natasha was speechless at this point. Hulk was cuddling her even more, running a large green finger over her cheek.

"PRETTY NATASHA.." He cooed.

Then he stopped abruptly.

"Hulk..."

"HMMM..." He hummed.

The finger made its way down to her neck, then resting over her chest. It was probably innocent, Hulk didn't have... THOSE... type of thoughts, right? That was impossible. He was a RAGE monster, not a LUSTY monster.

Or so she thought until the finger slid down to her waist, another massaging her butt. An almost frustrated look came over his face.

"SUIT... NO LIKE SUIT... GET IN WAY OF PRETTY NATASHA..."

OH fuck! What the hell was she going to do now?!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: THANK YOU FOR READING SO FAR! I KNOW THIS IS WEIRD, AND IF YOU ALL WANT I WILL CHANGE IT... BUT ANY WAY YOU SEE IT, PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! FEEDBACK MEANS THE WORLD TO ME! ^^


	4. Amnesia

A few hours later, Bruce woke up. His shirt was nowhere to be seen, and his pants were... well... mostly shredded. Where was he? He got up, running a hand through his hair. He felt dirt between his toes, and saw a roof over his head. In the corners were a few moldy boxes... an abandoned warehouse, mabye? But... WHY? God, he hated that he couldn't remember what the Hulk did. It was such a pain in the ass at times like this.

That was when he noticed the voice saying:  
"Yeah, he's back to normal. I-I... I'm fine. Just come get us, he's coming to." Natasha?

Had she been sent to look for him or something? Oh god, what had he done? Natasha sighed.

"Hello, Dr. Banner." She said, her voice shaky.

Bruce suddenly felt guilty. He knew how much she feared the Hulk, and it made him feel terrible knowing she had come out here to retrieve his ass.

"Natasha... uh... what exactly happened? Did I... hurt anyone?"

She looked away. Not a good sign.

"No... nobody got hurt except Doom. You kinda hopsitalized him."

"Okay, that's a relief. But, what am I doing... here?"

She didn't say anything.

"Natasha, why am I here? Why are YOU here? Did they send you to look for me?"

"Not... exactly."

"Well what does that mean? Come on, Natasha. I'm dying over here!"

Before she could answer, the rest of the team entered the scene. They all crowded around Natasha, asking if she was alright and if she was hurt...

"WHAT DID I DO?!" Bruce screamed.

The question echoed through the near empty building. Everyone turned to him.

"You carried Natasha off... and you ended up here." Tony explained.

Bruce paled. Oh god, this was not good. This was not good at ALL. He knew he had done something, that had to be it. Whatever happened, it must have been terrible. Hulk had tried to kill Natasha once...

"Oh god. Natasha I'm so sorry... did he hurt you? Did he try to kill you?"

Natasha seemed dumbfounded.

Kill me? NO, of course not Bruce. Hulk didn't try to kill me. Everything is fine, don't worry about it."

"Then why did he carry you off then?" Bruce asked, bewildered.

"He was protecting me."

"What? Really? Why?"

She looked away, but shrugged. Clint looked like he was about to say something, but she gave him one of her death glares. The rest of the team came to Bruce, explaining that Natasha was fine... nobody important got hurt... but he didn't buy it. There was something she wasn't telling him, and he was absolutely determined to find out what it was.

* * *

His suspicions were only confirmed further by the fact that Natasha had been avoiding him for the past week. Bruce was feeling unebelievably guilty, and unsure of what to do. He didn't even know what the Hulk had DONE! And the only person who could truly tell him was... well... Natasha.

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Bruce despised the Hulk even more for pushing Natasha away. Ugh, why did everything have to turn into such a clusterfuck?


	5. Something Wrong

Natasha had been avoiding Bruce for the past two weeks. She would make up any excuse to leave the room whenever he entered, and would make sure to stay as far away as possible from him during training sessions.

Bruce hated it. He hated every. Single. Minute. He wanted SO badly to talk to her... but goddamnitt if she won't even stay in the same room with him then how was he ever supposed to accomplish that?! Not only was it infuriating, it was also extremely hurtful and worrisome. What had he... the Hulk... done?

Bruce needed to find out. He spent hours thinking it through, until he came up with an idea. If he couldn't talk to her, then maybe he could talk to the closest person to her.

"Clint!" Bruce called as he saw the man in question walking down the hallway.

"Yeah, Bruce?"

"I need to talk to you about Natasha."

"What about her?" He asked.

"Well, you've seen how she's been avoiding the living shit out of me. You're her closest friend... did she tell you anything? Anything at all?"

Clint shook his head. She had in fact NOT said anything to him. Natasha wasn't a person who... confided in others easily. Even after knowing her for years, she still kept to herself about most things.

"I don't know, dude. She's a very private person. She won't discuss emotions or anything with ANYONE. Hell, she'll barely tell somebody if she has a cold! Natasha doesn't like to seem weak."

Bruce bit his lip.

"Well you know what happened when I... the other guy, carried her off. What happened then?"

Clint rubbed his neck uncomfortably.

"Please Clint, I'm begging you! Nobody will tell me anything! I'm going nuts!" He exlaimed, throwing his hands out in exasperation.

"Well... okay... if it'll help you. How about we go into the lounge." Clint led the way.

* * *

"So, in conclusion, you claimed her as 'your woman' before carrying you off to that warehouse. We didn't hear from Natasha for a few hours before she finally said you calmed down."

"Hours? HOURS?" Bruce was terrified.

And furthermore... his woman? Oh god, it was worse than he thought. The stupid beast went and ran its mouth. The other guy was a fucking blabbermouth! What was he supposed to make of this? If the Hulk had the same protective feelings over Natasha as Bruce did, then did that mean it had the same... love for her too? Or worse, LUST?

What did the Hulk do for HOURS with Natasha? He didn't... it wasn't possible. The other guy couldn't possibly have done... THAT. Not just because it shouldn't even be having those feelings, but also because it was physically impossible. No way, no way.

So what DID happen then?

"Oh god... I think I really fucked up, Clint. I don't know what happened, but I think I REALLY must have fucked up." Bruce mumbled, putting his head into his hands.

Clint gave him an awkward pat on the back.

"Hey, hey. It's alright, Bruce. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. And Natasha's reaction isn't your fault, either. That's just how she is."

"I still need to talk to her. Any advice?"

Clint shrugged.

"Just give her a little more time. If she doesn't say anything by the end of the month, confront her. I'll get everyone else to help. What do you say?"

"Alright." Bruce agreed, though he still wasn't feeling much better.

"Thanks Clint. You... uh... you're a good guy."

"Don't mention it."

And with that, the two went their separate ways. Clint was walking back to his room, when he heard a faint noise coming from... none other than... Natasha's bedroom.

"Nat?" He asked.

He just heard some sort of pained moaning.

"NAT?!"

More whining and wheezing. "Gooo awwaaaayyyy..." She called from inside the room.

"Natasha, open the door." Clint crossed his arms.

"NO."

"Come on, I know you're strong and whatnot, but you sound like a dying animal. So open the door before I bust the goddamn thing down!"

He heard a sigh. The door unlocked, and Natasha was leaning against the doorframe. Her face was green, and she was clutching her stomach. Clint's face twisted in utter fright.

"Oh my god, Natasha, what- what happened?! What the hell?"

She suddenly put her hand to her mouth and ran for the bathroom. Clint followed suit, only to find her on her knees above the toilet. He held her hair back as Natasha vomitted profusely.

"Oh god, Nat. We gotta get you to a doctor. I'll call Bruce up..."

"NO!" She screamed, her voice shrill with fear. That was not like Natasha at all.

"Come ON, Nat! What's the big deal?" She looked back at the toilet, flushing.

"What did he do to you?"

She wouldn't answer. Clint grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eye.

"Please, Nat. For your own sake, tell me what's wrong. I'm your best friend, for gods sake!"

Natasha opened her mouth to speak, only to turn her head back and puke. Clint prompty stood.

"Fuck it. I'm getting Dr. Banner. You're sick, and you're too... whatever you are... to ask him for help. So I'm doing it for you. I don't care if you don't like it,because this needs to be done."

She was too sick to care at the moment. But once Clint was gone:

"Fuck!" She screamed into the toilet.

AUTHORS' NOTE: OH NO! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE WRONG WITH NATASHA? ANY GUESSES? ANYWAY, HOPE YOU ALL LIKED THIS CHAPTER! ^^


	6. Flashback

**FLASHBACK AHOY! HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED DURING THOSE FEW HOURS. AND... I'M PRETTY SURE THIS CHAPTER IS THE WEIRDEST YET. IT DEALS A LOT WITH HOW MUCH CONTROL BRUCE AND HULK HAVE OVER ONE ANOTHER. ALSO... **

**SMUT!**

* * *

Natasha was... unlike most of the time... utterly panicked. Hulk had gotten hold of her zipper, and it was now down to her pubic hair.

"Pretty... Pretty Natasha... Hulk want see..."

He cooed as he peeled the suit off of her like a banana. She felt exposed, helpless, and weak. And god did this piss her off. Natasha Romanoff was not weak, godammitt! But she knew she couldn't fight back, which frustrated her even more. He ran his fingers over her, tracing the lines of her stomach.

"Soft Natasha..."

What he did next practically made her jump. One finger slid between her legs as he spread them apart. Natasha gasped, and all but fell to the floor. Hulk had to move quickly to catch her back in his arms. Natasha was thinking about how fucked up this was. Not because she didn't want this (though she didn't really, not at the moment.. under these circumstances), but becasue she DID. How many times had she imagined being like this with Bruce? How many times had she touched herself, moaning his name helplessly into her pillow?

The answer: far, far too many times.

But this was sort of a twisted way of making it happen. Dreams coming true, huh? She didn't even know Hulk could have these sort of feelings.. but maybe that was the Bruce part of him? Or were they the same? Natasha didn't know, there were a lot of gray areas in this situation. Besides, with the big guy struggling to shred those purple pants... it certainly wasn't time for phychological debate.

Wait... WHAT?!

He wasn't... was he trying to... Natasha saw the very large bulge straining against the fabric... oh god. She was trying to squirm away, but it was no use.  
"Uh... Hulk..."

She couldn't run, maybe she could try and talk him down. (Might not work, but hey, what's the harm in trying?)

"Pretty Natasha... Want Pretty Natasha..."

"I don't... we can't... No." She tried to affirm.

Hulk lowered her, having gotten the pants out of the way. Natasha, her legs spread, found the err... part... on the cusp of her entrance. She couldn't even process the horror she was feeling. How was that even supposed to fit?

It was pretty obvious that the two were not physically compatible. The tip was too large. It just kept rubbing agianst her... which as sick as it might sound... felt kind of good. Hulk realized how futile his efforts were, and groaned in frustration.

"Want pretty Natasha... want inside pretty Natasha..."

And with that, the Hulk's eyes lit up. Did he have an IDEA? Oh god... wait... he was shrinking. Thank god. He got smaller, setting Natasha down. But he only shrunk part of the way. It was like... something **_inbetween_** Hulk and Bruce. She didn't even know he could do that.

"Bruce.."

"Hulk. Still Hulk." And he walked over to pin Natasha to the ground.

Fuck. FUCK. This was going to happen. This was really going to happen. Then something even stranger happened. He shrunk down the rest of the way, but... his eyes were still a radioactive green.

"What the fuck?" Natasha said.

Bruce, who was keeping her on her back, leaned into her ear.

"Natasha love Banner... Hulk love Natasha... Banner love Natasha. This way Natasha happy. Natasha happy?" He explained.

Whoa. There was a lot to this that she had yet to learn. His voice was deep, gutteral, but it sounded like Bruce. This, to her, was a whole new level of fucked up. She shouldn't do this.

But...

She studied the man above her. A beautiful man. It was Bruce, but it was also his other half. Like being with two people. And it was obvious all... whoever this was... she was guessing Hulk still had control... had no intention of hurting her. All this person wanted was to love her. And if this was going to happen, she might as well enjoy it.

"Yes. Natasha happy." She confirmed, spreading her legs apart for them (him).

With this signal to proceed, Bruce... Hulk.. whoever... sheathed themselves inside of her. She gasped. Was this how Bruce was normally? God, what a lucky man. Big... very big...

"Ohhh.." She moaned.

The man above her was sliding, groaning. She was warm, moist and so fucking TIGHT around him. His hands roamed restlessly over her skin, just wanting as much contact with her as possible. His lips were caressing her neck, skimming up to her plump lips. There they planted, opening and moving with hers. Their tongues wrestled for dominance.

Natasha grabbed a fistful of his soft curls and clutched for dear life as the speed of his thrusting increased. The warehouse was filled with echoing moans of pleasure.

After a good five minutes Natasha felt herself come with an Earth-shattering orgasm. The man above her clamped down on her hips as he reached his own peak inside of her.. filling her with his release.

But god it was not done yet...

* * *

The two made love for hours, until Natasha thought she was going to pass out and Bruce actually did. While he was unconsious, Natasha thought:

'Oh god, oh god, I slept with Bruce. Or Hulk. Or both. This is not good. This is terrible. I'm never going to look at him the same way again.'

If he didn't remember, she decided, then this would remain her secret. She loved him, and that was bound to be a liability. If she could just keep it to herself then maybe things would turn out alright.

Not to mention that she felt disgusting. How could she have let this happen?

She heard moaning.

Oh fuck he was waking up.

* * *

Two Weeks Later:

The nausia had become almost unbarable. At first she thought it was the cheap sushi that she had eaten out of the fridge (thank you very much Stark), but that just couldn't explain why it had been going on for this long.

Natasha got up the courage, and she took a pregnancy test.

And when the little plus sign came up, Natasha knew she was fucked. No scratch that, when Clint heard her puking and went to get Bruce, THEN she was fucked.


	7. Baby on Board

Natasha POV:

By now the vommitting spell had stopped... for now. What I was concerned about was what Bruce was going to do when he found out about this. Oh God, this was going to be a disaster! What would the others say? Would I be kicked off the team?

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones, but I felt like I was having a panic attack. Okay, okay. Calm down, you need an escape plan. There was no way in Hell that in was goin g to face Bruce right now. Let's see, I suppose I could climb down the tower and escape into the streets. Take my money...

Oh what's the point? Bruce would have to know the truth sooner or later, and I sure as Hell was not known for running from my problems. I sighed.

"Guess I'll just see what happens." I told myself.

It was at that point when Clint returned with the man in question. Bruce was as handsome as ever. He would... Will... have beautiful children. I hoped the baby had his looks, or at the very least, his personality.

"Dr. Banner." I greeted formally, my eyes fleeting from his gaze.

He nodded, his expression filled with disappointment.

"Barton said you were feeling ill. He thinks I should take a look at you. Would you mind coming down to the lab with me? Just so I can take a look at you, determine the cause."

Alright, decision time. I could either go with him or... tell him the truth. I sighed.

"There will be no need."

Clint sighed. "Nat, I know you don't like to seem weak but now is not the time-consuming"

"I know what the cause is."

The two men looked to me, then one another. There was much confusion mirrored between them.

"Well enlighten us." Clint urged.

"I'm pregnant."

Mouths unhinged, the men were reduced to drooling idiots. Bruce, however, was the one to ask the vital question.

"Who's the father?"

Oh boy, this was it. My breathing was shaky as I blurted it.

"You are."

"Holy shit." We turned to see Tony, Thor, and Cap in the doorway. Tony was the one who had spoken.

"Goddamitt." I said. This was NOT how I planned on explaining.

Bruce stood in the center of everyone's eye, stunned into shocked silence. We were all waiting for some type of response, any reaction at all. When Bruce moved (after several minutes), we all took a step back.

But instead of doing what feared (becoming enraged and hulking out), he did something quite different.

Bruce walked to me. "Natasha..."

He then got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

In the background, Tony fainted.


	8. Marry Me?

"Wh- What?" Natasha stuttered out.

Bruce, down on his knees, repeated the question.

"Natasha Romanoff, will. You. Marry. Me?"

She blinked rapidly. Marry Bruce? Natasha Banner? She could barely wrap her head around it. Natasha was in love with him, she couldn't deny that. But marriage? Could she handle that?

Luckily she was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of Tony coming to.

"What just happened? I thought I saw..." he looked up to see them.

"Yep. This is real."

Bruce's heart was pounding. Here he was, down on one knee in front of her. Though he didn't know what happened exactly, he wanted to do the right thing and marry Natasha. Of course he was in love with her. That wasn't the problem.

He feared that she didn't want him. Maybe she didn't want him near him, let alone be his wife. His WIFE. The very thought made him wither pregnant! Bruce thought back to the night they first met.

"I don't Always get what I want." He said, one hand rocking an empty baby cradle by his side.

He never thought that with his condition... Bruce thought he'd never have a child, despite how dearly he wanted one. Now here she was, the woman he loved, pregnant with his baby...but she might never be his.

Who could love somebody like him? His hope was fading. She didn't want a thing to do with him...

"Yes." He heard.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"What did you just say?" Bruce asked,not sure if what he heard was a delusion of self pity.

"I said yes. I'll marry you, Bruce."

While he had been doubting and worrying, Natasha had been thinking. After getting over the shock of it all, that is. She knew it was best for the best for the baby,but that wasn't the reason she said yes. Well not the ONLY reason.

There was something beautiful about the image of her strolling down the aisle to meet Bruce. A sense of joy, warmth. She did love him, after all.

And the baby made it even more perfect. Complete.

Another mental image passed through her head.

She saw herself holding a bundle that was no doubt their child, sitting peacefully in a cushioned chair. Bruce was beside them, cooing over the little one with a large smile upon his face. When he looked up at this future Natasha, anyone could see the love between them. The adore for their baby, and the happiness of their surreal little family.

She watched as a spectator to her own imagination. The whole team was with them in this piece of heaven. Clint was the honorary uncle, Pepper and Tony discussing having a baby themselves. Cap awkwardly trying to hold the infant, nervous he might hurt it. Thor being overprotective and worrying over it.

It was all as clear as day.

And in this scene, she felt the love she'd been denied through her life. The sense of family she had never had and secretly longed for.

How could she deny the same to her baby? Or to Bruce, for that matter? He deserved a family more than words could explain.

This is why she said yes.

Bruce wrapped his arms around her, thanking his lucky stars that this was the woman he would marry. The others gave a collective "awww" before the couple broke away.

The smiled nervously. There was a long road ahead, and with every great vision of beauty...There was was always the underlying fear and doubt.

AUTHORS NOTE: SORRY IF THIS WAS TOO MUSHY OR OOC. BUT HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYE SO FAR!


	9. Fittings

At the Bridal Shop:

Natasha stared nervously at her reflection. Nervously. She didn't use to understand what the word meant. But things like your wedding make you nervous. Here she stood in the eggnog colored dress and matching high heels.

Her womb wasn't supposed to round out until about six months along, so Natasha picked a waist hugging dress.

It was beautiful, no doubt about that. The fabric was a fine silky, shiny texture with an assortment of rhinestones embedded into it. Swirls of flickering sparkles were displayed across her front. In its back, a criss cross of ribbon went down to her tailbone. The skirt fell like a waterfall of fabric down the assassins legs.

Her shoes rose three inches, but were masked by the dress.

Natashas' veil, implanted by a silver hair piece, was cathedral length, edges lined with ribbon and its surface scattered with tiny diamonds. Speaking of diamonds... she looked at her engagement ring glinting under the harsh dressing room lights.

Bruce had given her the white gold ring the very next day after his proposal. At first she wouldn't accept it, saying it was too much to ask from him. His response was:

"You deserve a ring. And it isn't a proper proposal without one. Please, take it."

So she did. And she loved him all the more because of it. Whole Natasha was deep in her reverie, Pepper and Maria were waiting in the main room.

"Nat, come on! We know you're nervous about getting married, but we can't wait all day for you! We wanna see!"

Natasha shook herself out of it. She took a deep breath. Time for her to show her bridesmaids.

Slowly she walked out. Pepper covered her mouth, tears leaking from her eyes. Maria (who had been a long time friend since Natasha had started working for shield), Sat mouth agape.

"How do I look?" The redhead asked.

Both were speechless for a time. Finally Pepper said: "You've never looked so beautiful. I hope I look half that good when I tie the knot."

Natasha smiled. Maria joined: "I'll be lucky to look a quarter that good. Bruce is one lucky bastard, I hope he knows that."

Natasha looked between the two of them. They had a consensus that they'd wear knee length dresses, toga topped and a deep green.

"You two look amazing already." She complimented, and she meant that.

"But still, you're the one everybody is going to be looking at." Pepper reminded.

Natasha gulped at the thought. "I know."

Meanwhile, At the Tuxedo Taylor:

The men, (which included Tony, Clint, and Bruce of course) were getting their tuxedos fitted the same day.

Bruce was in the dressing room, straightening his dark green tie. He wasn't too confident about this, as was usual for him. By now he found it extremely difficult to salvage his self esteem. And, considering Bruce thought he was a monster, this wasn't too much of a surprise.

At any minute he expected his beloved (though he hasn't actually told her that he loved her) bride to be to call up and cancel the whole wedding.

So far, that had not happened. She seemed totally committed to this, which eased Bruce's mind... a little.

For now he focused on looking respectable. The suit itself was a classic black, and made of the finest quality of silk. Even the pearl white dress shirt was silk. Not to mention his cufflinks were real gold. Ah, the benefits of having a billionaire for a best friend and best man.

His shoes were matching, fine black leather and gold tipped laces. Bruce hoped to God that he looked good enough for her.

"Bruce, what's the hold up? Get your ass out here!" Bruce rolled his eyes.

"In a minute! Have some patience!" He called through the door.

After one final look over, he went to meet his groomsmen. When he walked out, Bruce took notice of the suits they chose. Pencil gray, white button up dress shirts, and dark green ties like his. Their cufflinks were silver instead of gold.

"You guys look great." Bruce said with sincerity.

He actually felt a little undermined. He felt they were far better looking than he was. Hell Tony had Bruce beat by a mile. What was the point of even comparing?

But the two groomsmen were speechless.

"What is it?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"Goddamn, Bruce." Clint spoke.

"What? How bad do I look?"

Tony and Clint looked shocked. "Bad? BAD?! Dude! You look like... amazing!" Tony gestured his hand towards the groom awkwardly.

"Really?" Bruce was genuinely surprised.

"YES!" The two replied at once.

"I don't think so."

"Well then you're blind. If Natasha doesn't come bolting head first down the aisle, I'll be shocked." Tony said assuredly.

Bruce felt himself blush. "Thanks, guys. That's really nice. I just hope she feels the same way that you do."

Tony came and put an arm around his best friends shoulder. Clint just gave him a broad smile.

Clint knew Nat, and of course she was head over heels. Now if only she'd say that... he shook his head. With time. And how could she resist THAT?

"She will Bruce, she will." Clint assured.

AUTHORS NOTE: HOPE THIS TURNED OUT ALRGHT! THANKS FOR READING SO FAR!


	10. Appointment

Natasha gulped as she prepared herself for her first appointment with Bruce, her fiance. Since he was a doctor, he'd be the one monitoring the baby's development. Natasha could only hope that this would go well.

After all, nobody knew how the child would affect her.

Tony was effectively kicked out of the lab, mostly by by Nats' request and partly because Bruce was genuinely afraid he'd end up strangling him if he stayed. Since this was Natasha's first time dealing with prenatal care, Pepper would be with her.

"Hey Bruce." Natasha greeted.

He smiled nervously at her. Bruce was of course just as worried about the baby as his bride to be. Bride to be, Bruce thought. It was almost impossible to believe that the wedding was only three days away.

"Hello Natasha. Ms. Potts." He nodded toward Pepper.

She gave him a smile. Natasha strolled over, then settled on the medical examination bench.

"Now lift up your shirt." He immediately followed that with "You know, for the uh... ultrasound."

She did, exposing a flat washboard of abdomen. Natasha watched as he got the device used to look into her womb, as well as the monitor it was hooked up to.

After it was all turned on, Bruce placed the instrument down on her skin. There was a special sort of jelly spread across her stomach first, which helped the little device glide easier. Natasha couldn't help but worry about the baby... and the marriage. Would their child be normal? Would it be like her? Or, God forbid, Bruce?

How would they raise it together? Could they really work as a couple?

Ugh, so many thoughts... so many ways for things to go horribly wrong. Suddenly she was distracted by the sound of a frantic, rhythmic beating. Something much like...

"The heartbeat." Pepper whispered.

Natasha looked up at the monitor. There on the screen was what appeared to be a small sac, pulsating. It was all in black and white, but still... it was real. Nat felt a small tear form behind her eye.

Bruce was hypnotized. He could never describe the sight of seeing his child for the first time, and inside the body of the woman he loved. Waves of emotion hit him like a ton of bricks. Awe. Love. Anxiety. Worry. Fear. More love.

"BABY MINE." Bruce heard his other half say. "PROTECT."

It was one of the few things he and the other guy ever agreed on. He shook himself out of it.

"The heartbeat is strong. Looking good from what I'm seeing so far. But we'll need an amnio to be sure."

"Amnio? What's that?" Natasha asked. As smart as she was, medical procedures were not her strong suit.

"Let me show you."

Bruce went and grabbed a... a...

"Uh... What the fuck is with the giant needle?"

"Well I need to insert this through your navel in order to get to the amniotic fluid."

Natashas eyes went wide.

"I don't think so."

"Nat, it needs to be done." Pepper assured.

"No. Fuck that. You stick a three foot needle in your belly button and preach then."

Bruce set it down. He understood where she was coming from. If it was him, he sure as Hell wouldn't want that in his stomach. But it needed to be done.

"Natasha... please..."

"Fuck. That." She repeated.

He sighed, and went to cup her face in his hands. "Please..." he whispered.

"I won't hurt you."

And for some reason, she melted. "Okay."

So he cleaned the needle before placing it over her belly button. Natasha was putting on a brave face, though her breathing was rapid. She hissed as it pierced her skin, sliding down through her and into her uterus.

"Okay, now just relax." Bruce instructed. She tried.

She was gripping Peppers hand like it was a life line. Natasha couldn't deny that watching her amniotic fluid being sucked up into the needle was quite disturbing, and she had seen some pretty disturbing things.

And what a relief it was when it was out. Pepper felt the circulation come back to her poor hand.

Bruce took it over to a machine that would analyze the off pink fluid. They all waited for several minutes before the machine came back with some information.

"Well..." Bruce started. "The baby is healthy so far, though there is a hint of radiation in it. I'll have to keep an eye on that."

Natasha felt better. It was okay.

"The baby is getting all the nutrients and oxygen it needs, so that's good. And..." held paused.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Natasha asked.

Bruce got this big smile on his face. "What is it? Come on, you're killing me!"

"And, we... we're having a baby girl."

"A girl!" Pepper smiled at her friend, who really was in tears.

Bruce went back and was met with his wife to be locking her arms around him.

"Our daughter." Natasha whispered.

Bruce hugged back. He could see her now. Beautiful, just like her mother.


	11. Jitters

The whole team was thrilled about the news of Bruce and Natashas baby being a little girl. Even Fury smiled a little bit. Nobody was sure what to call her yet, though there were a few ideas. Bruce even asked if she could be named after his mother, Rebecca. That was something he and Natasha would discuss after the wedding.

Speaking of which...

"Natasha, come on! We have to get ready!" Pepper called from outside the bedroom door.

The soon to be bride just sat there, brooding. Hands shaking. Here she was, about to be married to the man she loved and... Natasha was terrified. It baffled her. God, emotions were a pain in the ass. Nat knew she had to do this, wanted to. Still... to say this was a case of pre wedding jitters was an understatement.

But God damn it, this was not how an assassin behaved! Grow a pair (figuratively speaking), and get out there! So she did. Natasha exited the refuge of her room and stepped into the hall to find an inpatient faced Maid of honor.

But the look softened when Pepper saw how truly scared Natasha was, deep down. Though she wouldn't say it out loud of course. Pepper knew it was something that Nat would not want to be called out on, either. So instead, she gave the assassin a knowing look and led her up to the lobby.

"The ceremony will be in a few hours. Maria will meet up with us at the church, where you'll be putting on the wedding dress. Luckily the boys have already left." Pepper explained to the nervous woman.

"I'll get you some breakfast."

Pepper got her friend a bowl of cereal, mini wheats to be specific. Natasha ate them without much ardor, she lingered on each bite for as long as possible.

By the time she was done, it was almost eleven in the morning. Natasha took a steaming hot shower, meticulously cleaning herself. Nat checked her body for blemishes, and was sure to shave every last hair off of herself.

For a while she let the water simply pound on her back. In this one place, bathing and naked, Natasha felt she could allow a little anxiety to seep through. Maybe the bathroom was the vulnerable place to be when attacked, sure. But if you were already in the most danger here, what's the point of keeping emotions pent up?

You were fucked up the wazoo no matter which way you slice it. She slid to the floor of the tub and buried her face between her knees. Oh God, She was getting married to Bruce today. This was scary enough as it was. But with a baby in the mix... She felt her limbs turn to jello.

She couldn't do it. That much was clear. For as much strength as she had, Natasha was simply not equipped to handle marriage and motherhood. But she had to. The baby needed, deserved, it's family. Just the same as Bruce deserved and needed a family. This gave her the courage to get up and go with Pepper to the church.

The ride was short, luckily, and they still had two hours to the wedding. When they arrived, Pepper and Maria rushed to get their dresses on before getting Natasha's out of the closet. It didn't take long before everyone was in the proper attire.

Nat was given a lovely diamond chocker, with a teardrop cut sapphire dangling down her neck. Her hair (which had grown out since the battle of New York), reached down to a little below her shoulders. So it was put into a small bun, with two spirals of hair left to dangle at the sides of her face.

The make up consisted of ruby lipstick, smoky eyeshadow with black eyeliner, and a light blush of pink. All in all, she was stunning. But still nowhere near feeling ready for this.

Bruce, at the other end of the building, was feeling quite a mixture of emotions. Joy for finally getting married to the women whom he loved. Anxiety of course was just part of the situation. Luckily he had many years of practice in the art of calming himself.

Not that it was going to help today. He was ready to have a heart attack! Tony was not helping that much, and Steve just sort of stood back. This was not his forte.

And neither the bride or groom were ready to hear: "it's show time!" From Clint.

In this moment, the two had a moment of synchronized thought. These thoughts can be summed up to:

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

AUTHORS NOTE: HOPE THIS WAS GOOD!

AND FURTHERMORE... TIME FOR SUGGESTIONS. BABY NAMES ANYONE?

I ALREADY GOT ONE SUGGESTION, AND I'D LOVE TO HEAR MORE FROM YOU ALL! ONLY IF YOU WANT TO, THAT IS.:)


	12. Love and Marriage

Clint was the one who was walking his friend down the aisle. When he first came to see her, Natasha was visibly pale. The bridesmaids were trying to calm her down, but it was a futile effort. And since they had to take their posts at the altar, Clint knew he had to try instead.

"Natasha..." He said, griping her shoulders.

She breathed in heavily. "I'm fine." She lied.

"No, you're not. You have the complexion of Casper the deadly ghost."

She chuckled. "You mean friendly?" He shook his head.

"That's beside the point. Look, Nat... I know that you're afraid. Don't even say that you're not, because I know you too well. But everything is going to be alright."

"How do you know that?"

Clint decided to go for broke. "Because there is a man out there waiting for you... a man who loves you more than you'll ever believe."

"Loves me? Are you sure?" Clint nodded.

"Of course he does. Now come on, let's face him."

Natasha took his hand as he lead the way out to main hall. There they stood outside the doors that lead to their party.

"Here we go." Nat whispered.

And with that, the two took their first step onto the blood rose red aisle. Bruce was already at his place, near sweating bullets. Poor guy was even more bent out of shape than his bride.

He'd been thinking of ways to calm down, though nothing helped. And his mind was flooding with every possible way for something to go wrong. What if somebody came to attack the city? What if he Hulked out?! God only knows what could happen then!

Or worse, what if Natasha miscarried and never wanted to speak to him again? That thought was nearly enough to give him a heart attack.

Then he heard the doors to the cathedral open. There she was, as beautiful as a picture of heaven. Full red lips and sparkling blue eyes, plus beautiful curls framing her face. She was a vision. Behind him, Bruce heard Tony stammer for words.

"Shut up, Stark." Bruce said through his teeth.

Bruce just couldn't take his eyes off her. This woman... intelligent and gorgeous and deadly... was his wife. Soon to be, anyway. Bruce felt a knot form in his stomach. There was still a chance that Natasha could call it off.

Or maybe she'd end up wanting a divorce. Either way it made him question himself. Would he be a good husband? Father? He wanted to be both. What Bruce wanted more than anything was a family. A loving, caring family. Their daughter happy and social, perusing her desires. While he and Natasha would support her, being happily married.

Then he worried... What would their little girl think of them? Would she reject them, call him and her mother freaks? Bruce hoped not. Though he still saw it as a possibility.

Natasha was approaching the altar. Bruce held out his hand to take hers. Clint smiled lovingly. She was his best friend, after all.

"Natasha... you look beautiful." Bruce complimented.

"Thank you. You look very handsome, Bruce." She smiled nervously at him.

He took a deep breath. That was a relief. The minister began, clearing his throat.

"Dearly beloved... we are gathered here today in the sight of God to witness the marriage of Natasha Romanoff and Bruce Banner..."

The bride and groom each gulped. No turning back now. Even though neither wanted to. They loved one another. It just had not been spoken aloud. The minister spoke to all present about love and commitment and all the things Bruce and Natasha were doing by committing their lives. All listened intently, though Bruce and Nat were almost too nervous to focus.

For them, the critical moments came all too soon.

"You may exchange rings." The minister announced.

Bruce slid a ring to match her engagement one over her finger. Natatasha did the same, focusing on his hand instead of his eyes.

"Now... Natasha Romanoff... do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? In sickness and in health? For better or for worse? To have and to hold? To LOVE and to cherish... till death do you part?"

"I do." She said without hesitation.

The vows were repeated on Bruce's part, when the minister announced:

"Then by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you man and wife." Here it comes. "You may now kiss the bride."  
Bruce pulled Natasha in by her waist, dipped her, and locked their lips. Natasha ran her fingers through his hair, trying to get as close to him as possible. The kiss went on for quite some time, until a few throat clearings and Tony shouting:

"You two can fuck later! Now is not the time!" Before they parted.

Both blushed. Suddenly the crowd errupted into cheers and bellows of joy. The party strolled into the reception room, grand with a large dance floor. before anyone danced, there was a tradition that needed to be fufilled.

"Alright ladies! Time for the bouquet to be thrown!" The DJ at of the party announced.

Nat turned around before tossing it out into the crowd of cheering women. Moments later, there was a group of men guffawing. Natasha wondered what the fuck that was about. What she was... well... the bouquet had landed directly into STEVE'S hands.

Poor guy was standing there so awkwardly while Clint and Tony laughed their asses off.

"What should I do here?" He called to the bride.

"Uh... toss it to somebody else?"

He shrugged and this time it landed in Thors' hands. Since he wasn't really familiar with Midgardian customs, he said: "Thank you Sir Steven! I appreciate the gift of such lovely foilage!"

This made the other two laugh even harder. Natasha smiled. To her, this was her family. Not the family she dreamed of, no. But a family all the same. She and Bruce were just making it stronger, and adding a new addition. And she wouldn't trade any of them (not even Tony) for the world. Her little girl was going to grow up just fine as long as they were together. All of them.

Bruce broke her out of her thoughts.

"Care to dance, Mrs. Banner?" He held out his hand.

"Yes, I would." And so they did.


	13. Honeymoon

After the wedding, Bruce and his new bride drove off in the limosine (which Tony had so graciously provided... and decorated with the words 'Congrats Newlyweds: Happy Fucking' in whip cream on the windshield).

Bruce shook his head.

"Sometimes, I don't even know why I'm friends with him."

Natasha smiled. "He's entertaining... and honestly, Tony's not as bad as you make him out to be. He accepts you. That's why."

"Yeah. Well anyway, let's clean this stuff off before the bugs get to it."

* * *

The two sat comfortably in the back, watching the scenery pass by. Natasha and Bruce were on their way to a _very_ expensive hotel (again,Tony), where they'd be staying in the honeymoon suite for a period of three days. Since the two were Avengers, an extended Honeymoon was out of the question.

Nat played with the shiny wedding ring, fasninated as it glinted in the late afternoon sunshine. Her new name kept replaying in her mind, almost as if she was breaking it in.

_Natasha Banner._

_Natasha Banner._

_Natasha Banner._

She kept thinking. It sounded... kind of _right. _Sneaking a glimpse at her new husband, she smiled beneath the veil. He kept figeting, nervous and insecure. Despite everything, all Natasha's doubts about the future, one thing was certain. Marrying him was not a mistake. In fact, Natasha felt more confident about that than anything else.

And if the two were going to make love tonight (since that was kind of the point of a Honeymoon), she decided to go ahead and express her thoughts.

"You know I do love you, right Bruce?"

The man looked over to his new wife. The radient mother of his unborn daughter. These words comforted him more than Bruce could say. Even though the wedding had gone off without a hitch (for which Bruce was undoubtly grateful) he still had doubts about everything else. What if she was already regretting this? Would she file for divorce? Oh god, what if she wanted to leave the Avengers all together?

"I love you too, Natasha."

Again, going against Natasha's baser instincts, she leaned in to snuggle up to Bruce. He put a loving arm around her shoulder, and kissed the top of her head. Nat smiled. Yep, this was definitely a good choice.

* * *

That evening was quiet, beautiful. Bruce had onlocked the door to their suite, revealing a lovely front room. Aside from the lovely sofa and recliner, (not to mention a set of french double doors) something esle caught the couple's attention. A basket of fruits and chocolates awaited them on a glass coffee table.

"_Congratulations to these happy newlyweds! Please enjoy these assorted fresh fruits and delicious french chocolates. We hope your stay is most memorable."_ Bruce read a small card sticking out of the basket.

"Wow, no wonder this place is expensive. With this kind of hospitality..." Natasha commented, setting her luggage down in the main bedroom.

To the left was a small kitchen, a full sized fridge, and even a mini bar! Of course Natasha wouldn't be partaking in _that_. Instead, she settled on eating a banana from the hospitality basket. Afterwards she and Bruce unpacked their clothes (including swim suits, since there was a grand pool out back), and opened the window to the right of their king sized bed.

The view was amazing. Above, the moon hung high as a spotlight of luminecent white, surrounded by a dark sky dusted with the brightest of stars.

Bruce took the opportunity to explore the suite. A flat screen television was in front of their bed, and the exquisitely large bathroom was next to the kitchen. Inside was a glass shower, a bathtub with claw legs, and an extended vanity on the right wall.

"Geez." Bruce mumbled.

Considering his extended stay in brazil... in the not so privlaged area, this was all quite alien to him. Even with Starks' lavish floors, this place was nice.

While he was doing that, Natasha was taking the time to slip out of her wedding dress (and heels). She lay in a seductive pose upon the scarlet sheets, awaitng her husbands' return. And, on that thought, Nat went ahead and removed her panties. Not like she was needing those anyway. So a froth of gingery hair was exposed to the casual observer... mainly Bruce.

Natasha pulled her hair of its up-do, letting the bloody curls fall at her exposed shoulders.

Bruce was feeling nervous as he paced around the bathroom. Yes, he'd slept with Natasha before (obviously), but now he'd actually remember it. He was worried that maybe the Hulk would show up... which would be a disaster. Plus, Bruce was worried about how he'd look to her. She was this young, vibrant, attractive woman with the body of a model. He was... not. Bruce saw himself an old man, graying curls and slight wrinkles. How that beauty ended up in his bed seemed somewhat of a mystery.

Of course he had to face her. "Here goes nothing." Bruce whispered to the mirror before walking out.

And just like that, Bruce felt his mind go blank.

_Holy Mary Mother of God_, he thought. Bruce stared at this angel laying on the bed. Her body made pale by the moon, Natasha's lips, cheeks and eyes all stood out in blosseming color. Her stomach (still flat but gaining a slight bump), traced feminine lines of muscle down to her sleek and shapely legs. The curve of her hip was highlighted by shadows.

And between her legs lay a nest of cherry curls, framing a pink and shining sex. This was his wife.

Bruce automaticaly began discarding his clothes. His jacket slid off in heap at his feet. Bruce slowly unbuttoned his shirt, each one exposing more and more tanned skin.

This of course gave Natasha shivers. Despite what the doctor thought, he was one fine specimen of a man. He may not have been firm and muscular, but his body was still in good shape... not to mention that skin. His face was gentle and aged, and Bruce's eyes were the most lovely shade of brown. Natasha devoured the sight, especially as he slid his pants (and boxer shorts) down to his ankles.

He kicked off his shoes, rolled off his socks.

So there he was, naked as the day he was born... and god was he handsome. Natasha beckoned him over, giving him a teasing smile. He strolled over, climbing up onto the bed. Nat took notice of the raw hunger in Bruce's eyes.

"Come here." Natasha whispered.

Bruce crawled on top of her, watching her head tilt to the side. She brought his face down to kiss him. Bruce slid his tongue along her lips, tasting the lipstick. Natasha opened her mouth, allowing him to plunge into it. Her tongue glided over his, their lips wrestling. She wrapped her legs around Bruces' waist, urging him down.

The moment of truth. Bruces' heart quickened, the beast growling from the back of his head.

_No! NO! _Bruce commanded.

And, much to his relief and surprise, his other half obeyed. However, Bruce did allow the other guy to come through for a moment, and growl out:

"MINE..."

Bruce couldn't agree more. He dived into her, thrusting fully inside. Bruce smirked as she cried out. Her warm, wet insides squeezed around him, causing Bruce to moan into her neck. He began moving in a rhythem, gliding back and forth. In and out. Below him, Natasha was gasping and uttering incoherent words into his ear.

He was pushing down on both her pleasure spots, and him sucking the nape of her neck wasn't helping. Bruce brought one hand up to massage her right breast, the other was wrapped around her waist to draw her closer. They were lost in the movements and pleasures, a duet of moans that seemed to increase in volume. Thoughts were becoming inconsistant...

"Oh... OH... OOOHHH!" Natasha cried as she came, an orgasm rippling across her body.

Bruce was not far behind, growling into her neck and biting (no doubt leaving a bruise). He pulled out, laying beside his bride.

"I love you, Natasha."

"And I love you, Bruce."

The two shared a kiss before falling into a dreamless, worriless sleep.

AUTHORS NOTE: DEAR GOD I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATES! PLEASE, PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I REALLY HOPE THIS CHAPTER WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR IT! THANK YOU FOR READING AND SUPPORTING! ^^


	14. Trouble

_Two months Later:_

Bruce and Natasha had been married for two months now. And, to be honest, they were as happy as newlyweds could be. Bruce was constantly doting over his wife and future mother of his baby, taking care of her every need. Natasha was taking very good care of herself, while being supportive of her loving husband and his crippling insecurities.

All the others were taking notice of this new dynamic. And everybody was relieved beyond belief. Especially the best friends of the loving couple, Tony and Clint. They shared a common happiness that their troubled friends had finally found what they needed... and furthermore deserved. Love. Which had brought on a whole other emotion, foreign or long forgotten. Happiness. Bruce and Natasha were HAPPY. And god knows it was long overdue... both had very rough lives. For the first time, it seemed, the two were genuinely happy. And it showed.

Nat's face would light up in a way it never had before. Bruce was more calm and relaxed than he'd ever been. Then again, that could be due to the copious amounts of sex they'd been having. Either way, life was blissful.

But, like most things in life, it didn't last forever.

Natasha was now four months into her pregnancy. Bruce had already begun building a nursery (though it was going to be a surprise for Christmas, which was two months away). Up until now, she'd been doing wonderfully. The baby seemed healthy, and Natasha had been full of energy. But... things had begun to take a drastic turn...

"Ohhh..." Nat moaned as she got out of bed.

She was feeling nauseated again, even more so than usual. Her stomach felt like it was on fire... oh-ooh god...

Natasha ran into her (Bruce's) bathroom, and began vomiting. This, evidently, woke her sleeping husband.

"Nat? Honey, are you alright?"

He was met with the sound of more puking. "Morning sickness again?"

"YEAH..." She called, groaning. "Ohhhh my stomach..."

"Do you want me to get you some pepto-bismal?"

Nat, in the restroom, was feeling dizzy. The world seemed to be spinning. Vision became blurry, and Natasha swore she tasted pennies. Bruce's voice felt distant, from some far off place in the cosmos. "Help..." She said with her last remaining shreds of strength before... hey why was everything turning green... she blacked out.

Bruce heard a loud _thud _and immediately sprinted to the bathroom. He swung the door open and saw...

Natasha was passed out on the floor, and her skin appeared to be a sickly green. He picked her up, catching a glimpse of the blood in the toilet. "Oh JESUS!" Bruce cried, cradling his bride like an infant.

_NATASHA IN DANGER! NATASHA SICK! BANNER HELP NATASHA! _His alter ego commanded.

Bruce did exactly that. He ran full speed out the door, heading to the lab. Something was wrong, something was very, very wrong.

* * *

Tony, quite by circumstance, was working on a new suit design down in the lab when Bruce came bursting in. His head snapped over, seeing his distraught best friend carrying an unconscious Natasha. From her lips, blood was drooling down her chin.

"What the fu-" Tony began.

"GET THE GURNEY SET UP!" Bruce shouted, undertones of the other guy shining through.

Tony did exactly as he was told, helping Bruce place pregnant Natasha on the table. The two were in a rush to help her, trying to find the cause. Bruce was using every once of his medical knowledge to stop the internal bleeding. Whatever was wrong with her, that was the main priority. Of course in the back of his mind, Bruce felt a pang of horror for his child.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD! She was going to die. The baby was going to die. They were both going to die. And it would be Bruce's fault. He'd never forgive himself and neither would the other guy. Bruce's mind was in a frenzy... he froze.

Tony was doing what he could, helping to stabilize the two of them. And, in the process, calm down his friend.

"Bruce, buddy, snap out of it!" He screamed.

He didn't move.

"Come on Bruce! Natasha needs you to help her right now! The baby is in danger! THEY BOTH ARE IN DANGER!"

Tony then did something that, under most circumstances, was not advisable. But here... well... Tony slapped Bruce across the side of the face, bringing the doctor back to reality.

"Thank you, Stark. But don't EVER do that again."

"No problem doc. And noted."

Finally Natasha appeared to be stable, and the bleeding had stopped. Now it was time for tests. The two took samples of her tissue, blood, and amniotic fluid to be tested first. While that was being done, the two made sure that Natasha was okay in terms of heart-rate and temperature.

And, after an agonizing thirty minutes of waiting...

"DING!"

Bruce rushed over while Tony watched over the assassin. There was quite a few minutes of silence that followed. "Bruce?" Tony called. Silence.

"BRUCE?!"

Nothing.

"Don't freeze up on me again buddy, we can't afford-"

But when Tony looked back, what he saw was heart-breaking. Bruce was on his knees, tears overflowing, shoulders heaving. Tony rushed over to help. Now, Tony wasn't one for emotions, but seeing Bruce like that really tore him up.

"What did the tests say? Come on, what's wrong?"

Bruce looked up with despaired brown eyes. "Her blood is full of radioactive substance. Its spread to most of her body."

"Well what does that mean?"

"The cause is my DNA being routed in her. It's the baby. It's... it's killing Natasha."

"WHAT?!" The two heard from behind them.

Natasha had woken up.

AUTHORS' NOTE: HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED! YEP, IT'S ABOUT TO GET DRAMATIC!


	15. Sacrifice

"What do you mean she's KILLING ME?" Natasha asked, clutching her womb.

Bruce and Tony stood in shock. Talk about crappy timing.

"Uh... Nat..." Bruce began approaching her.

"_Answer the goddamn question_, Bruce!"

He sighed. "She has my DNA. That means that she's given you radiation poisoning."

"So every time we've had sex, you've given me a dose of radiation poisoning?" She asked, confused.

"NO, no. It's... just the baby."

Natasha's face hardened, eyes cold and concentrated. She had a feeling of what was coming next.

"So I'm going to die?"

Bruce's heart jumped in fear. "NO! You won't die, I promise. We... we have to get rid of the baby..."

Natasha didn't even let him finish that sentence before grabbing a scalpel and leaping off the table. Her survival instincts were being overridden by the overwhelming need to protect her daughter. If there was one thing Natasha was going to do before her life ended, one SELFLESS thing, it was saving her child. Natasha had a lot of regrets, as one can imagine. Sadly, of all the horrible things Loki said, this one he got right. She murdered liars and killers, in the service of liars and killers. And she was herself, a LIAR and a KILLER. But Nat would be damned if she'd let this happen. NO.

Nobody hurts Natasha's baby.

Bruce and Tony were quick to figure this out when Nat was holding a surgical knife out, her only weapon.

"Natasha..." Bruce tried to reason.

"You are NOT taking this child, Bruce. OUR child."

That was a punch in the gut to the doctor. Of course he didn't want his baby, the only one he'd ever have, to die. But in this tragic event, it was better to have Natasha live than have both of them die.

"Look, Nat, we don't have much of a choice. I'm sorry but-" Nat stabbed at Tony with a scalpel.

"Don't get involved with this, Tony. You won't like the consequences." She threatened.

Bruce had no choice but to lay it out for her.

"Nat, if you don't let her go... then neither of you will survive. The baby won't live anyway, because... _because you won't make it to term!" _He shouted, tears nearly filling his eyes.

She lowered the scalpel. "How long do I have with the baby inside of me?"

Bruce was silent.

"BRUCE... I'm warning you."

He gulped. "Three months."

"Three months?"

He nodded. Natasha was formulating a plan, like she always does when under threat. Let's see... she'd be seven months along by then. Now Natasha wasn't an expert on pregnancy, but she was positive that a baby could survive outside the womb at seven months... at least in an incubator. She could get a C-section by then. But... Nat did the math. She'd be cutting it pretty close.

"If I decided to keep it until the seven month mark... could I live through a C-section."

Bruce's heart was breaking. "By then your condition would be too deteriorated to save you. If you carried the baby until then, you wouldn't survive."

"Would she live?"

He breathed: "Yes, hypothetically."

The assassin had already made up her mind. It was one of those decisions that mothers sometimes have to make for their children. "Then I'm not giving our daughter up, Bruce. She has to live."

"BUT YOU'LL DIE! THERE IS NO POSSIBLE CHANCE OF YOU MAKING IT OUT OF THIS!"

"Well it's either me or your daughter. As her father, wouldn't you sacrifice anything for her?"

He nodded. Bruce already knew he'd lost this battle.

"Exactly. And so would I. It just so happens that what we have to sacrifice... is me."

Even Tony was in near tears. He hated to see Bruce like this, his best friend... god how was he supposed to help? And man, Nat was really being courageous. Even the self-centered scientist had to respect her choice.

"What do we tell the others?" Bruce asked.

Nat sighed.  
"The truth."

* * *

The Avengers stared in horror. Natasha had just explained the situation, and it had sent a shockwave of emotion through each and every one of them. Steve was in disbelief, he couldn't imagine the team without her. She was the Black widow... she was NATASHA! And Poor Banner... Pepper was sitting next to her in tears. Nat was her bet female friend, and it was impossible to see her gone.

Thor was much the same as Steve, and couldn't even find the words to express his condolences. And Clint...

His heart was breaking in his chest. Now he wasn't one for emotion either... but Nat was his best friend. Possibly the only person who'd stand by him in ANY battle. And most definitely the only person who KNEW him. While Steve and Thor couldn't imagine the team without Natasha...

Clint couldn't imagine LIFE without her. He loved her. Not the way Banner did, but it was equally as strong. And the fucked up part was... he couldn't stop this if he tried. Because he understood her decision better than probably anybody else. She wanted to do one good thing with her life... to redeem herself. And the only way to do that was to sacrifice herself for the only thing she's ever loved unconditionally (aside from Bruce)...

her only baby. The archer didn't even notice the silent tears streaking down his face until his vision began to blur.

"Are you sure about this, Natasha?" Pepper asked.

"I've never been more sure of anything." She sighed. "Everyone, I understand this is not going to be easy on you all, but... it is the only thing I can do to save my daughter. Please understand."

The group nodded. Even Fury had been notified, and he was just as upset as everyone else. But he didn't cry... he's Nick Fury.

"Clint, be a good uncle to her, okay? And don't let her forget that she'd loved."

He nodded. "Okay..."

Natasha remained placidly faced. She didn't want anyone to see how scared she was beneath the thin venire of her confidence. Because that's what she does, even when the end is eminent.

_Well little one, I hope you're staying strong. Because it's going to be a rough few months. _The mother thought to her unborn daughter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: OOHHH I'M SORRY! I KNOW THIS IS REAALLLY DARK AND DEPRESSINGG... PLEASE HANG IN THERE! BUT THIS MOOD IS GOING TO BE STAYING FOR A WHILE, JUST A WARNING.

THANK YOU FOR READING AND SUPPORTING!


	16. Breakdown

_Later That Night..._

Bruce had helped Natasha get settled into bed early, wrapping her in blankets and keeping her comfortable. Beside their bed, he placed a trash can, in case she needed to vomit. He even tried to feed her dinner... though she couldn't get much down. The poisoning was hitting her appetite pretty hard. This caused some concern about the baby, but at this point... everything was a concern. Hell, Bruce wasn't sure how all this was going to affect their daughter! God only knows what horrible mutations could arise from the gamma radiation!

Of course, Bruce didn't let Nat hear that. She was in enough agony as it was. He looked down at his sick, dying wife, and stroked her hair.

"Goodnight, Natasha." He said.

"Goodnight Bruce. I love you."

Bruce produced a fake smile, and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. "I love you too. Get some rest. We'll see how you're feeling tomorrow." She nodded, turning over and falling asleep.

Now here she lay, the woman he loved... and she was going to be taken away from him. Their only child motherless. If the baby survived at all, that is. Bruce sighed. Despite his normally cautious demeanor, tonight had been especially horrific. The doctor needed a drink.

* * *

Tony had been down in the lab for around three hours now, trying to start building the incubator for the baby. It was all he could do, and Tony hated feeling useless. Poor Bruce, that man really got the short end of the proverbial stick. If Tony believed in god, he'd probably be questioning his faith right about now. But he didn't, so it wasn't an issue. As he was tinkering with the heating aspect of the machine... the scientist heard a noise from above. Crashing... shattered glass?

"Fuck." Tony said and ran up the stairs to the longue.

What he saw was... heartbreaking. The good doctor was sitting at the bar... or hunched over it, more like, with a broken glass lying on the floor. Beside him was a large container of whiskey, one Tony had been keeping behind the counter. Really strong stuff, too.

Tony couldn't see Bruce's face, but could tell the heaving shoulders that the man had been crying. The brokenhearted man took another swig of booze, slamming the bottle back on the table.

"Bruce, buddy... you okay?"

The doctor turned in his swiveled chair. He was disheveled, hair in knots and bags under his eyes. But it wasn't this that really hit the normally self-centered billionaire. No, no. It was the way Bruce's normally calm face was twisted, reformed into what could only be described as a broken man. And with the doctor being Tony's best friend, this was hard to see.

"Bruce?" Tony called gently.

"Do ya ever get the feelin' that life hates you?" Bruce asked, slurring his speech.

He took another sip before standing.

"I thoght I'd had m- my share of misfortuens... crappy childhood... no luck in m'job... turning into an enormous green rage monster an' losin everything I ever cared bout... I thought life had it's fun. Maybe things'd get betta... but noooo..." He said, stumbling aimlessly towards Tony.

"No, life hadn't finished. It had to give memy love... married... a lil' gurl on the way..." He paused.

While Tony was waiting for a response, Bruce did something that startled him. He started laughing, like this was most hilarious thing that had ever happened to him.

"And my condition had ta sa-natch it ALL away in the blink of an eye. Funny, really! Now the woman I luv is gonna die. My baby's won't have its moma. Ugh... next thing ya know it'll take evry'thing else, too!"

The laughter was dissolving into pure sobbing. Tony, naturally, was unsure of how to handle this situation. His friend was having a breakdown, and Tony... he didn't do emotions too well. Plus Bruce could turn into the other guy at any time. God only knew how the alcohol affected his self-control. Tony was frozen.

Bruce collapsed onto the floor, bawling his eyes out into the tile.

"Shit." Tony said, and ran over to him.

"Come here buddy. It's okay, I'm taking over to the couch now."

Tony slung an arm around Bruce's waist, supporting the doctor as he dragged his unwilling feet across the floor. Bruce continued crying, now using Tony's shoulder as a tissue. God, what was he going to do? Tony couldn't bring him back to Natasha, that was possibly the worst idea in the world! It'd only hurt Bruce more, and Nat wasn't in any condition to help her husband through this.

As soon as they got to the couch, Tony tried setting Bruce down. But the doctor lost his balance, grabbing hold of Tony's coat, and ended up dragging the scientist along with him. Tony tumbled gracelessly on top of the broken doctor, who was back to laughing through his tears.

Bruce looked up. "Yur a good friend... Ton'. Didya know that?" He asked.

"Uh... thanks. Anything for you, buddy." Tony replied, trying to get up.

But Bruce wouldn't let him. Some of the other guy must have shined through, keeping poor Tony in an almost vice-like hug.

"BANNER _NEED_ TONY." Hulk growled. "TAKE CARE OF BANNER." He said, before both the hulk and Bruce fell into a drunken unconsciousness.

"Well fuck." Stark said. "Looks like I'm taking care of him."

He sighed. Though he wasn't happy with this turn of events... Tony knew he had to accept it. If Banner was going to be strong for Natasha, taking care of her in every way possible... Tony guessed that he had to do the same for Bruce. I mean... he did care about the guy, after all. Bruce was his best friend! And contrary to popular belief, Tony wasn't a heartless bastard.

Getting up, Tony found a blanket and covered the dozing doctor with it. He'd sleep here for tonight, waking up next to Tasha was a bad idea on all counts, as stated. And as an afterthought, he placed two alka-celtzer tablets beside a glass of water. Cause that man was going to have one hell of a hangover.

"Goodnight, Bruce." Tony said quietly before heading back down to the lab.

If he was like this now, Tony could only IMAGINE the shitstorm that was to come after Natasha died.

"Looks like I've got my work cut out for me." He mumbled.

AUTHORS' NOTE: SOOO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING SOONER! PLEASE FORGIVE AND REVEIW. DID THIS COME OUT ALRIGHT? TOO OOC? THANKS FOR READING AND SUPPORTING!


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